At LEAP we have been tracking the development of additive manufacturing (AM, aka 3D printing) very closely for the past decade, and we have no doubt that if you’re an engineer or product designer who has been waiting for that ‘tipping point’ in capability/cost in AM, that now is the best time to get started.
We are in the midst of running a series of series with Emona and Markforged here in Australia during October, with events in Melbourne, Sydney (morning & afternoon sessions) and Adelaide – if you’re interested, click on the city name for registration details.
But first let’s recap why CAD/CAE and simulation are such a perfect match for product designers and engineers who are also getting started with AM:
-
- Topology Optimisation
- We can now easily move from a traditional ‘over-designed’ part to automatically remove mass where it is not needed using topology optimisation in ANSYS – maintaining (or in some cases even increasing) part stiffness while significantly reducing overall mass
- Topology Optimisation
2. Lattice creation and optimisation
- Modern CAD such as Creo and SpaceClaim will seamlessly automate the process of lattice creation and optimisation – again significantly reducing product mass while maintain stiffness and strength where it is needed:
3. Composite fibres – orientation and distribution
- Markforged has also pioneered new methods to additively manufacture composite parts – whether you are printing simple short or chopped long fibre composites, or complex draping – ANSYS Composite PrepPost offers a fast and accurate way to get your composite parts right before you commit to the manufacturing process:
What if things don’t go precisely to plan?
New simulation technology from 3DSim recently acquired by ANSYS now offers our customers the ability to run print validations prior to commencing an additive manufacturing print. You can answer critical questions such as:
- Will my built part confirm to the original 3D CAD?
- Are distortions occuring, if so what is their magnitude and are they in a critical location?
- If distortions are present, ANSYS can now automatically generate a ‘compensated’ geometry so that the eventual built part is as per the original CAD
- What is the optimal support structure density for my specific build geometry and orientation?
If you’d like to learn more about the answers to these questions, and more, then please register to attend these Additive Manufacturing seminars with Emona Instruments – places still remain in Sydney (morning & afternoon sessions) and Adelaide, or contact LEAP for more case studies and to discuss your specific projects.
